"I was sound asleep, me and my wife," Pearson told WPBF 25 News. "My other son, who is also in law enforcement, called me. He was really upset, saying that, you know, Paul got shot."

Pearson's son, Paul Pearson Jr., was one of two U.S. marshal task force deputies shot in Sebring while serving warrants on suspected cocaine traffickers.

At first, Pearson had little details about his son's condition. As he was racing to the hospital, he started receiving updates that calmed his nerves.

"The second phone call I got is that he was shot in the shoulder and he's talking," Pearson said. "That makes you feel better. The third phone call I got was that it was not life-threatening, which was a big relief."

Pearson said that when he finally arrived at the hospital, St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara was there at the door to escort him to see his son. Pearson was surprised to hear his son say he was already ready to get back to work.

"He had all his wires on and the doctor was treating his wound," Pearson said. "(My son) started talking about, 'Well, I'm going back to work tomorrow.'"

Later that afternoon, Pearson brought his son home, where he's recuperating. Despite the heart-wrenching experience, Pearson still sees a silver lining.

THE FATHER OF A U-S MARSHAL, SHOT DURING A DRUG INVESTIGATION IS TALKING ONLY TO WPBF 25 NEWS. HE UNDERSTANDS THE DANGERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT... BECAUSE HE HAS A BADGE, TOO.JOHN DZENITIS IS LIVE FROM THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE... WITH THAT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. 3 06.53 "He always wants to be the best that he can be, and I'm proud of him for that." PAUL PEARSON UNDERSTANDS THE DANGERS HIS TWO SONS FACE DAILY AS SHERIFF'S DEPUTIESHE'S A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER HIMSELF. 2.34 "I never pushed any of our children to go into law enforcement, they made that decision on their own."BUT AS A PARENT.NOTHING COULD PREPARE HIM FOR THE PHONE CALL, EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. 3.51 "I was sound asleep, me and my wife."IT WAS ONE OF HIS SONS.4.00 "He was really upset and said Paul got shot."PAUL PEARSON J.R. WAS ONE OF TWO U.S. MARSHAL TASK FORCE DEPUTIES SHOT WHILE SERVING WARRANTS ON SUSPECTED COCAINE TRAFFICKERS IN SEBRING.04.12 "When you hear something like that, you don't know any details at that point."PEARSON RACED TO THE HOSPITAL, HOURS AWAY.5.20 "Second phone call I got was that he was shot, he was shot in the shoulder, and he was talking. That makes you feel better."TWENTY MINUTES LATER5.29 "The third phone call I got was that it wasn't life threatening, which was a big relief."WHEN PEARSON FINALLY GOT TO THE HOSPITAL, THE SAINT LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF WAS AT THE DOOR.07.13 "Escorted us right into his room to see him, and he had all his wires on and the doctor was treating his wound." HIS SON WAS TALKINGAND IN GOOD SPIRITS.7.37 "Even though he's 33 years old, you still think of him as a child, when you're a parent, I think all parents do that." 3